Pensioner Gets Last Laugh at Scammers’ Expense

A pensioner from Tayside has had a laugh at the expense of criminals who attempted to raid her life savings by pretending she was due a large lottery win. Maureen Mills was contacted by the group, believed to be operating from West Africa, and told that she had won £720,000 in the EuroMillions Baku Lottery. Knowing it was a scam, Maureen decided to ring the number provided and have a little fun by seeing what happened.

The 64 year-old was told that a cheque for the lottery ‘win’ would be sent out and, two days later, she received another letter demanding a one percent “clearance charge” before the it could be paid. Maureen rang the group again and insisted that she wouldn’t give out personal details over the phone, “I even suggested that they give me the money and then I would send them the one per cent,” she recalls, saying that “he got confused and said he would ring me back.”

When the man called again and told her that was not possible, she set about wasting his time by asking numerous questions before agreeing to divulge her bank details, but instead quoting an account number that consisted solely of zeros. The man eventually terminated the call, leaving Maureen triumphant, but also concerned that some others may not be so savvy about lottery scams.

The golden rule is that you simply cannot win a lottery that you did not enter. In addition, no legitimate lottery will demand payment in advance for clearance of funds, admin or taxes of any sort. You should also be wary of giving out personal information over the phone or online. If you play lotteries like Lotto and EuroMillions online, you will receive an email to tell you if you are a winner, but it is up to you to log in to your account and begin the claims process. Maureen saw the signs of a scam right away, but others may not – visit the Scams page at Euro-Millions.com to learn more about how to protect yourself from fraud.